A GROUP of Washington cameramen were photographing Elmer Davis receiving the first books of the new VictoryBook Campaign. “Don’t just pose,” the cameramen told the OWI director. “Make it look real—start talking.” Davis began to recite the lines he always repeats before the news cameras: “The little brown fox jumped over the fence. . . . This is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.”

A GOOD way of earning money with your camera is to obtain the names and addresses of people who recently moved to your town or neighborhood and offer to make interior and exterior pictures of their new homes. They are usually eager to get small pictures or photographic postcards which can be sent to friends and relatives.

AS THIS issue goes to press, POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY completes its sixth year of publication. We recall, somewhat wistfully, those less pretentious quarters where, in the early days of 1937, POP PHOTO was conceived and first saw the light of day.

B. E. J., Toronto, Ont. Can you give me the formula for a good tray cleaner? My enamel trays have become black from the developer. ANSWER: A good tray cleaner can be made up as follows: To 32 ounces of water add 3 ounces of potassium bichromate. After it has dissolved, add 3 ounces of concentrated sulfuric acid.

Dear Sir: I have read with great interest Rus Arnold’s article "I Asked My Dealer” in the March issue. Mr. Arnold did justice to all sources of information available to the average amateur photographer but one—the photofinishing laboratories. There are quite a few photofinishers—though, not as many as there should be—who consider it their duty to help improve the general standards of amateur photography.

THE most innocent of pictures may reveal important military secrets. Censors prevent such photos from reaching the enemy.

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ROBERT EICHBERG

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THERE were two men in town—it doesn’t matter where; it may have been your town. One cold morning they went out together and took some pictures of a crowd of boys skating. Both wanted to send the home-town scene to a friend abroad. Both mailed their prints.

Learn how to avoid troublesome darkroom errors that result in print failure, and get the most out of every good negative.

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Typical Faults

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Efforts at Correction

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Choice of Materials

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Exposure and Development

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Determination of Developing Time

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Determination of Exposure

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WILLIAM MORTENSEN

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MOST amateurs are familiar with the general procedure of print making. Many, however, are unaware of the darkroom errors that often cause print failures, and to these we will now devote our attention. In this series of articles we have been discussing all of the sad things that can happen to a print.

With a few simple tricks you can make humorous portraits that will amuse both your genial subjects and their friends.

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LEONARD CLAIRMONT

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YOUR camera doesn’t always tell the truth. By making it tell lies, you can turn out photo-caricatures that are just as amusing as pen-and-ink cartoons. Sometimes they may even be better. Pictures appear so real that people look again in wonder at a familiar face humorously exaggerated by photography.

IF you see a magazine cover or advertisement featuring a likable young kid with bright eyes, freckled face, and a mop of curly hair, you're probably looking at six-year-old Donald Delvin. This talented youngster is perhaps one of the best known child models in the country.

A photographer who always aims for naturalness in his pictures tells about his camera technique.

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ROMAN VISHNIAC

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WHETHER I use a 35 mm miniature camera outdoors or a view camera for formal portraiture indoors, my photographs are always of the type popularly described as “candid.” In fact, I do not believe there is any other method that truly describes the personality of the subject.

Letters to and from our boys overseas are condensed on film to provide more cargo space for food and supplies.

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DR. WALTER CLARK

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OVER a million men in our armed forces are now overseas, and getting letters to and from them presented a serious problem. Bags of mail had to compete with materials of war for space on ships and planes. Since guns, tanks, ammunition, and instruments can’t be compressed to save space, military leaders sought a method of “compressing” letters.

Even our busy Secretary of Agriculture finds time for photography. Still and movie cameras go with him on his trips.

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CARL HAMILTON

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SECRETARY of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard is beset by just about the same problems that bedevil other amateur photographers. The fact that he is a cabinet member doesn’t help him a bit. Mr. Wickard got through forty years of life in comparative peace as a farm boy, then as a farmer, and later as a public official.

There is plenty of picture material right in your own community. Capture it on film and make up an album of lasting interest.

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WILLIAM ROBERT HUNTER

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NOW that picture-taking jaunts in the family car are restricted for the duration, it is time to turn your lens on your own home town. There is plenty of fine photo material within walking distance and in range of public transportation. You can display it well by making a picture album on life in your community.

In photographing people, try using makeup to bring out their best qualities. It is easy to apply, and insures better results.

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SYD SIMONS

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EVERY time you take a woman’s portrait you use makeup. But it so happens that the makeup, while perfect in itself, is not good for photography. It very often exaggerates—to the camera—her bad features and minimizes all of her good ones. It increases the problems of posing and lighting, and adds to the need for retouching.

Every college offers a wealth of photo subjects and fine pictorial settings. Here is how to find them.

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ANDREW J. PAVLIN

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MOST people think of college as a place to study for a degree, but for me it is something different. I have been going to college for over three years—to get pictures. My job has been to shoot the “Youth on the Campus” feature for the Chicago Tribune’s Sunday roto section, which calls for a layout each week on a different midwestern school.

Don't try to be a camera expert right off the bat. Learn photography step by step and you'll find it easy to master.

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J. GARELD HENIKA

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WHEN I took up photography as a hobby my first impulse was to give the elementary stuff the quick brush and get right to work on salon pictures. A little intensive reading, I figured, would fix me up fine. Of course it wasn’t very long before I discovered I had been living in a dream world.

IT'S surprising the good pictures you can get with just a pretty girl and a fence. As a prop in the photo by G. W. Tourtellot III of Kansas City, Mo., above, or as a part of the composition of the picture below by Herbert P. Bond, Burbank, Calif., the fence adds an informal touch.

AMERICA'S war production has become a new source for dramatic pictures. These fine photos were taken in an aircraft factory by Stewart Love of San Diego, Calif., and show various stages in the building of a bomber.

COMMONPLACE objects often have definite patterns of pictorial quality. The photo above, by Clifford G. Scofield, So. Norwalk, Conn., and the one below, by David R. Frost, St. Paul, Minn., are good examples.

A PHOTOGRAPHER'S inner sanctum has many picture possibilities. Photos of amateurs at work are interesting not only as record shots, but to show to friends. And if no one is handy to snap your picture, do it yourself.

EVEN though all amateur cameras are "grounded" for the duration, there will be many unusual pictures to be made from the air once the war is over. The photograph of the airplane by Seaborn H. Mosely, and the one below of an orchard, taken from an elevation of 9,000 feet by Hulbert Burroughs, are fine examples of amateur aerial photography.

SEASONAL pictures always create a great amount of interest because they are timely. A clever tabletop, like this one by John Gragg Burke, Chicago, Ill., is very easy to make, as the diagram shows. All it takes is a little ingenuity and time.

Develop a careful routine in your picture taking and darkroom work. It will result in fewer errors and less wasted material.

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BOB ARENTZ

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MAKE a habit of doing things right in photography, from loading your camera to mounting prints, and your pictures will steadily improve. Bad habits can best be eliminated at the start. Failures can be kept at the minimum if you use the best methods you know in each step of picture making, and train yourself to follow the same procedure every time.

Here are the straight-from-the-shoulder facts about the possibilities of getting a job as a motion picture photographer.

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ALEX EVELOVE

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A GOOD many amateur photographers wonder from time to time what their chances are for getting a job in one of Hollywood’s studios as a photographer. The truth of the matter is that even though you have plenty of picture making experience and ability, you still have very little chance of passing through the studio portals onto the motion picture sets as a member of the photographic staff.

EVERYBODY likes pictures that show familiar scenes. You can cash in on this fact, whether you make photography a business or a hobby. Here is a stunt that was used by William Langley Studios of Dallas, Texas. It provided a big job in itself, and a lot of good publicity for the studio.

You can store a wealth of valuable reference material in a small space by copying it on 35 mm film. The process is simple and inexpensive.

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ROBERT E. WHALLON

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THE modern photographic method of copying books, magazine articles, documents, rare manuscripts, and a thousand other things, is becoming increasingly popular among amateur photographers who have 35 mm cameras. It is a technique that serves a useful purpose, and is well worth trying.

PICTURES that show animation are the kind that people notice, whether they are in a newspaper, a salon, or a family album. Some types of subject matter are naturally full of life. Others require some scheming on the part of the photographer to put action into them.

Pep up your home showings with a few trick sequences. They're good for a laugh and will mystify your audience.

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ROBERT A. WILKINSON

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THERE are many stunts that you can use to give your movies sparkle, life, and audience interest. One method is to use a few trick sequences to introduce a novelty effect. To be sure, such scenes can be overdone, but when judiciously used, will season an evening of movies as salt flavors food.

HOW pictures can take the stand and win convictions in court, as well as before the jury of public opinion, has been demonstrated by The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., in a recent series of articles and pictures giving evidence of widespread illegal slot machine operation and gambling in Wisconsin.

You can build an efficient table model slide viewer easily with little expense.

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Dr. I. Clyde Cornog

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IF you are a color enthusiast, you have probably recognized the value of a good film and slide viewer that can rest on a table. A viewer is a great help when you want to study your color pictures and select the ones to be made into slides. You can also look at slides more conveniently through it without going to all the bother of setting up a projector and screen.

WITH very little difficulty, an efficient copying board can be made out of a board and some discarded hack saw blades. The board should be at least 16 x 20. The metal fingers that hold whatever is being copied in place are made from four 12" hack saw blades cut into two sections, one 4" and the other 8" long.

H. V. F., Piqua, Ohio—This picture definitely has the makings of a beautiful shot. Its fault lies in the fact that you were not careful about the background against which you posed your subject. The fence posts, wire, and weeds all conflict with the girl for attention.

NOW READY for distribution is the new Jecto-Brom Glossy, a fast bromide-type projection paper. The stock is easy to handle, has a lustrous white glossy surface, and is supplied only in 8x10 single-weight, normal contrast. Prices are as follows: 24 sheets, $1.00; 50 sheets, $2.00; 110 sheets, $4.00.

The Bay Ridge Camera Club (Brooklyn, N. Y.) reports an increase of 50 per cent in its membership since Christmas, attributed partly to the fact that the club has been offering its members more interesting programs than formerly. One month, for example, the club was host to two young and graceful ballet dancers who posed for pictures.

AN easy way to label bottles containing photographic solutions is remove the printed labels that are glued on the cans or jars holding the original chemicals. These labels can be removed from the containers very simply. Generally, the labels are printed on long strips of paper, only the ends of which are glued.

This appealing portrait by John Makar, Detroit, Mich., was made with a 2¼x2¼ Rolleiflex and 7.5 cm Zeiss Tessar ƒ 3.5 lens. Three floodlamps were used to light the subject, and the exposure was 1/100 second at f 8 on Eastman Super-XX film. This was the last exposure of an otherwise successful portrait sitting.

THE prize-winning pictures from POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY’S 1942 Contest are touring the country. Make certain that you see them when they are in your locality. The following dates and places are scheduled: Amherst, Mass., Amherst Camera Club, May 3 to May 17.

KODACHROME slides offer an ideal means of supplying suitable color backgrounds for double-exposed color titles and white lettering. Some means of illuminating the slide from the rear must be established, of course. A small light-tight box is not practical.

A PORTABLE projector screen makes an ideal reflector to lighten up dark shadows in closeup shots either indoors or outdoors. A beaded screen especially reflects a considerable amount of light and will solve many lighting problems. A projection screen equipped with a stand is very simple to use.

This is the latest motion picture on Africa’s only republic. Founded by ex-slaves of the United States, this country is the first African stronghold of our armed forces. Part of the film is devoted to scenes showing the native officers drilling with the help of American Army officers.

ALL camera owners and photographic hobbyists should know something about insuring their valuable photographic equipment. The Questions and Answers department in the November, 1942, issue of POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY contained a query as to where insurance on cameras and equipment could be obtained.

WITH the scarcity of floodlamps, camera fans can do themselves a favor by observing a few basic rules in handling their lights. First of all, floodlamps should be handled with extreme care to protect the filament which is as delicate as the hairspring of a watch, in some instances.

AGITATION of large prints in a tray of developer just big enough to hold the paper or that does not have much of the solution in it may be done with the aid of a ten-cent paintbrush. The brush, preferably 2" wide, is used after the print is placed in the developer.

In these four albums are presented a collection of the finest pictures from Trains Magazine and from the files of the best amateur railroad photographers. Highly coated paper and gloss inks give the reproductions the quality of glossy prints.

PHILADELPHIA ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN, 34th Street and Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., is sponsoring its Sixth Annual Photographic Contest. Photos submitted must have been taken within the zoo grounds. No more than four prints will be accepted from one contestant and an entry form, obtainable for a fee of $1, must accompany each entry.